Alone
by Dissidia180
Summary: When the twins crash-land on an unfamiliar island, they know that they have to get back to Berk. But with Barf and Belch grounded, how will they get home? (No slash, rated T for minor violence and gore)
1. Waking Up

_I'm having a little trouble with my other story, so I thought it would be a cool idea to start this one up. I got the idea for a series of stories while in Malta and I already have everything planned out for this first one, obviously involving the twins. Smile, everyone, it's new!_

_Unnngh..._

Very slowly, she felt the blackness receding from her mind. She couldn't remember a thing before the darkness. Her moans sounded strange in her head, echoing and reverberating. Her head pounded and throbbed painfully. Tentatively, she opened her eyes.

Everything was blurred, the light stabbing her eyes. The sounds around her seemed to be drifting to her ears like they were blocked with wool. The smell of damp peat and grass suddenly hit her nostrils, sending a cold chill through her system and awakening her further. She was acutely aware of a loud buzzing hiss in her ears that slowly raised in tone, bringing the volume of the outside world up as it did so.

"_uuunh..._" Ruffnut rolled onto her back. She had no recollection of crashing, but that was the only explanation her muddled brain could present to her as she slowly began to wake up. Finally, she could see clearly, hear clearly and think clearly. "What happened...?" She groaned, reaching up to touch her head as the pain died away. She couldn't help but find it weird that she didn't feel any stiffness or injury in her body, save for the continuous throb of her head. Slowly sitting up and brushing herself down, she jabbed several points that she thought would be most likely to be hurt, but found nothing.

"Weird..." She breathed. Suddenly, the hair on the back of her neck stood up on end as she felt warm breath against her nape. Swallowing, Ruffnut turned nervously to find herself staring into the bright yellow eyes of a Deadly Nadder. The dragon squawked, peering at her first with one eye, then with the other. It was a dark blue in colour, the light glinting off the silvery patches on its skin. The Viking girl was instantly on her feet, hands up defensively, trying to stay in its blind spot, but she found it impossible when a second dragon, bright pink-purple, appeared behind the first.

The Nadders approached fearsomely, chirruping and growling. One bluffed its wings, trying to make itself look bigger. Ruffnut found herself retreating, backing away in fear. She took a second to look around herself. There was no sign of her brother or her dragon anywhere around. She was on her own.

Both dragons opened their mouths and roared, and Ruffnut turned tail and ran. She screamed as magnesium flame lapped at her ankles and pushed herself to run faster. Spines sank into the earth on either side of her and teeth snapped at her back and shoulders, but slowly, slowly, she was losing them. Her fear pushed her to run faster than she'd ever run before, her long strides eating up the soft ground beneath her.

The girl chanced a glance behind her, and seeing that the dragons had fallen quite a way back, she let out a cry of triumph. It was to be quenched as she skidded to a halt. Before her lay a long, sheer drop down hard, granite rock. She gulped. Before now, she had failed to notice how the ground was stepped all around her. She couldn't go around this drop. The wall-like structure spread right the way along the hillside, and there were more further up. The hill looked like a giant's podium.

With the Nadders closing in, she calculated her chances. She could try to run along the step, but the dragons would easily follow. No, there was nothing for it. She turned to face the drop, feeling sick to her stomach, and, with a gulp, stepped straight off.

The drop felt terribly long. Her stomach felt as though she'd left it at the top of the fall, but there was no going back now. She hit the ground, crumpled, and tried to roll over her shoulder, although she only managed to get half-way over. Lying dazed on her back, she stared up at the dragons who were teetering at the top, looking down at her.

"Ha!" She cried, jumping up and pointing at them. One simply spread its wings and glided down towards her. "Oh..."

"How did I forget that Nadders can fly?!" She screamed at herself as she shot like a bullet across the ground. The two dragons were hot on her heels, squawking loudly. One spine clipped her shoulder, throwing her off balance, but she quickly regained her feet and carried on. Her rapid, heavy breathing was becoming increasingly frantic, her throat dry and raw and every breath bringing pain. Trying to cough it away, she searched the ground for somewhere, anywhere where she could find shelter or escape. There was nothing.

She was suddenly, sickeningly aware that her joints were beginning to seize up, her muscles no longer obeying her wishes. She strained, but it was of no use; she just couldn't stop herself from slowing down. The Nadders were on her heels, one swiping at her with its dagger-like teeth.

"Oh gods... oh gods..." She choked, aware that there was now no escape. She was to be eaten alive by these wild dragons, and no-one would ever know about it. It would just be that one day she left and never came back. Still, the twin strained to remember how she crashed here, and still, her memory would not submit.

All of a sudden, she heard a sharp cry from across the hillock. She listened carefully, for there was another, and another. It didn't take long for her to recognise the voice as her brother's. She herself gave a shout, nothing intelligible, just a noise to tell him she was there. Her body found new strength, speeding up, just out of the reach of the dragons on her heels.

She saw him for a second before the creature behind him. Brilliant crimson and hot orange, the Monstrous Nightmare reared up, hissing, its great taloned wings reaching out to grasp her brother's shoulder, its mouth filling with vile, green gas, preparing to ignite. There was no time to exchange pleasantries; Ruffnut leapt forth and dived into her brother, knocking him to the ground before the fire raged forth.

Instead of hitting its target, the fiery substance spattered over the backs of the two unsuspecting Nadders. Enraged, they let forth their own volley of flame, and the quarrel of dragons quickly occupied them enough to make them forget the two Vikings clinging to one another in the grass below them.

As the fight moved away, the twins untangled their burning and infuriatingly uncooperative limbs, crawling finally aside from one another and taking a moment to catch their breath. Ruffnut curled in on herself, gasping for breath and yet not wanting to breathe for the pain it caused. It was made all the harder by the cloying phlegm that clung to her throat and blocked her airways. Lifting herself with shaking arms, she hawked and spat, freeing herself of the stifling sludge.

"Gross..." Was all her brother could say between gasps. She gave him a black look.

"Better than choking."

The twins were almost identical in appearance. They had the same long faces, the same platinum blonde hair, the same turned-up noses. Their stature was similar, lanky and thin, lacking any shape; if they stood quite still, perhaps they could be mistaken for posts or statues. Ruffnut again cleared her throat, stroking down her waist-length braids and brushing the dirt from her blue jerkin. Her brother shook out his long, yak-skin overcoat.

"Nice quick thinking, by the way." He drawled, glancing at his sister. "I wouldn't have thought of that."

"Thought of what?"

"Pulling me to the ground so the dragons fired at each other! Duh!"

"Oh, that!" The sister's voice was more gravelly than usual, still swallowing away the dryness in her throat. "I wasn't really thinking like that, I just couldn't stop running." She shrugged.

Above them, hanging unnoticed in the sky, a lone, white dragon played upon the breathing of the wind. Her skin was well camouflaged against the cloud bank; it was by far a bright day. A rider, dressed in pale riding gear, lay against her neck, a mask concealing their face.

"_They're awake..._"

_Well, this is the first chapter, and it's here! Alone will now be updating every few days, so watch out!_


	2. The Dragon Returns

_Chapter two of Alone is here! Sorry for the wait, I'm in the middle of exams and only have a very short slot in which to write. Bear with me!_

_DragonGuardien199012: Unfortunately, since I have the plot all written out already I can't, though I do agree that Tuffnut doesn't get enough loving. However, if I was to tell you why, it would ruin the plot, so I'm afraid you'll just have to be patient. All will be revealed!_

"So, where are we?" Tuffnut sat up and looked around. The island was an odd one, that was for sure. From the direction his sister had come stood a strange, stepped hill, looking a lot like a pointless square staircase. On the other side lay a thick pine forest, clinging to the side of a very tall, very steep hill. _I bet we could see Berk from up there,_ he thought to himself. There was an idea trying to reveal itself in his mind, but no matter how hard he thought about it, it wouldn't show itself. Instead, he looked across the flat, boggy valley to a long, flat beach. Not a sandy beach, but one made of hard, fist-sized pebbles.

"Do those pebbles on the beach look weird to you?" He asked, overly loud, and his sister groaned, finally sitting up beside him.

"Maybe, but not that weird. I've seen weirder; I mean, look at your face," She chuckled, and earned herself a push into the muddy grass. Righting herself again, she stood up, her legs still shaking from the excursion of running, and looked around in much the same way her brother had.

"Where's Barf and Belch?" She asked, more of herself than of her brother, though he shrugged unhelpfully anyway. Wrinkling her nose, she strained her eyes as far as she could see, but the slight rise and fall of the land made it difficult to see beyond the lumps surrounding them, like waves frozen in motion. "We should go look for them."

"Yeah, we _should_..." Tuffnut replied lazily, examining his dirty finger-nails.

"Then let's go already!" Ruffnut was anxious to make sure their dragon hadn't come to mischief while out of sight, and so, she gave her brother a deft kick up the backside and stalked off. With a grunt of annoyance, he followed on, rubbing the bruise tenderly and muttering obscenities under his breath.

At the top of the first hillock, the sister cupped her hands around her mouth and called out the dragon's names. The only reply she received was the lonely echo of her own voice from the hills around her. She tried again, in vain. Her shoulders hunched unhappily as her brother joined her and looked out at the island again.

"They can't be far away..." He reasoned. "Here, let me try. _BARF! BELCH!"_

_BARF! BELCH! BARF... BELCH... Barf... Belch... _The echoes taunted.He screwed up his face, glaring into the distance, hoping to catch a glimpse of emerald-green hide somewhere in the hills. Inside his mind, the idea was still swirling around. _We could see Berk... We could see Berk... _

"Oh! Oh!" He exclaimed, promptly grabbing his sister by the shoulders and giving her a boisterous shake. "If we climb up to the top of that hill, we'll be able to see everything! Even Berk!"

The moment she caught on, his sister forgave him the vigorous movement. "Hey, you're right! And, we can see the rest of the island, so we can look for Barf and Belch!"

"_Watching children can be such a bore..." _The lone rider reached out for their dragon's neck, patting her fondly. The Nadder cawed a reply. _"Perhaps we could land on a hilltop somewhere and have a rest?Oh, no, they'll see us, won't they? We can't risk that..." _They sat back and brushed their fingers through the close clouds above. _"You'll just have to wait it out..."_

"You know, it really makes me miss flying when we have to walk all this way..." Tuffnut complained. Ignoring him, his sister called again for their dragon, and was again met by only echoes. "I don't know why you haven't just given up by now, sis. It's not going to-"

His words were cut short by the rippling call of a dragon. Both twins froze; it was a Zippleback, for sure, but whether friend or foe, neither could tell. All of a sudden, from the top of a hillock burst forth a great, shining figure. It's grassy green scales, red markings and duel heads were unmistakable; Their dragon had answered their calls.

"Barf! Belch!" Both teens cried in elation, rushing forth. The dragon was in such ecstasy that they could not run straight for the waving of their tails and the wriggling of their body. The twins grasped the Zippleback's heads in their hands and placed their foreheads against the rumbling snouts. Ruffnut gave a sigh of pure happiness; her brother, a jovial laugh. Their dragon had returned, miraculously unharmed, and they could now return home.

But as Ruffnut went to mount Barf's saddle, she found something odd. It looked as though there had been a bar of metal twisted around the dragon's body, clamping their wings shut. She called her brother swiftly over, and he too saw the problem.

"How did that happen?" He asked incredulously, trying to wrench the metal away from Barf and Belch's body. His sister shrugged unhelpfully.

"I have absolutely no idea."

"Well, I guess we're not flying home." Tuffnut looked rather disappointed; he was a great fan of flying.

"I say we go back to the original plan and climb that hill to see if we can see Berk. But I still don't know what we're gonna do at the top..."

"Whoa, sis, let's not get ahead of ourselves!" Her brother chuckled, leading the dragon away as he headed for the forest. His sister scowled as she followed on. Her head was still grasping at the reason they crashed, or even what happened before that. In fact, she didn't even remember waking up that morning. Deciding to question her brother as well, she hurried forwards to walk beside him.

"Tuff, do you even remember crashing?" She asked curiously.

"Nope. I don't remember anything." He answered, fuelling her suspicions. "Then again, I don't usually remember things. Wait..." He stopped and peered at her curiously. "Why are you asking?"

"'Cause I don't remember either, and I don't remember anything else today apart from waking up here. Do you not think that's strange?"

Tuffnut looked thoughtful, then shrugged. "Nah, not really. I didn't really think about it at all." His sister scowled as he continued walking, coming ever closer to the dark, ominous forest.

The white rider strained to hear what the twins were saying. Their brow creased. _"They're getting suspicious, I'm sure... well, one of them is. Still, let's hope we can do this before they work anything out..."_

_Who is this mysterious rider and white dragon? I wonder... R+R if you want to guess!_


	3. Into The Forest

_And so, we continue in our quest to find out who the white rider is and to see whether Ruff and Tuff can get themselves off the island!_

_I'm tempted to try to translate this into French..._

The forest loomed above them, impossibly vast. They craned back their heads and stared up at the tall conifers and stretching branches. Of the interior of the forest, they could see nothing, just blank, empty void filled with shadow. A breeze shifted the branches, the needles dancing and playing ominously.

"Well, that looks inviting..." Tuffnut quipped sarcastically, his brow furrowed.

His sister gave a growl of annoyance. "Let's just go! I wanna get back to Berk already." With the Zippleback following on, they entered the foreboding forest, the branches grasping and scratching at their bare arms. Barf and Belch had to keep their heads low to the ground to avoid the lowest arms of the pines, chattering nervously and staying close to their riders.

Ruffnut strode out in front, looking through the silvery trunks. Only a few hardy bushes lay between the great pines, the rest of the floor was coated in a generous amount of fallen, brown needles, dried up and carpeting the ground. Behind her, she heard her brother stoop down, gather some up, and hold the bunch out to Belch, saying:

"Belch, spark these!" The head obeyed, opening their jaws and hissing as sparks leapt from their throat. The needles caught almost immediately. Ruffnut turned to watch as her brother waved the fire at her. Soon, it burnt too close to his hand, and he dropped them with a yelp of protest. Ruffnut gave a cry and began to stamp out the small fires that were setting where the burning needles had dropped. As she quenched the last, she scowled at her brother, not caring that he was clutching his hand like a wounded animal.

"You idiot!" She snarled in her gravelly voice, "You nearly set the whole forest on fire!" All of a sudden, realisation hit her, her face falling quite suddenly. "Wait, that's it! If we collect a ton of these needles, we could build a huge fire, and then the others would see the smoke and come rescue us!"

"Oh, great idea!" Tuff grinned.

"Hey, blame Astrid. I heard her talking about it the other day," The girl shrugged carelessly. "But we _have_ got to make something to carry them in..."

"Well, if we gather loads of long branches and weave them together, we could make a huge basket and fill it up-"

"Tuff, neither of us can weave." His sister pointed out, raising an eyebrow. She then stroked her chin thoughtfully, thinking hard. "Got anything we could use?"

Tuffnut proceeded to turn out all of his many pockets; a surprising number, leaving his sister scowling impatiently before him. "Okay, I've got some dragon-nip, two buttons and a lot of lint..."

"I haven't even got any pockets, 'cept the one with my knife in it." Ruffnut prodded the buttons wistfully. "Ugh, this is hopeless! I can't think of anything!"

"What if you spun the lint together like wool and made a little bag?"

"You expect me to do that without a spinning wheel? I can't even do it _with _one of those things!" Moving over to Barf and Belch, she checked each of their saddles for anything she could use, but she found nothing remotely useful, save for a needle and thread her mother never let her leave the house without. Pulling the thick chord through her fingers, another idea dawned on her.

"Tuffnut! Take off your shirt!"

"What?!" The request took him completely by surprise. He looked over to where his sister was already throwing off her waistcoat and reaching for her belt. "How is taking off our clothes going to help?" He folded his arms resolutely, determined not to move until a further explanation was given.

"You're wearing an under-shirt, right?" Her belt fell to the ground with a clatter beside her foot.

"Of course!"

"Take it off and give it to me. If I sew up the bottom, we can use it as a bag to carry the pine needles in!"

Barf and Belch stood, watching bemusedly as their riders flung off their shirts and tossed the pale white under-shirts onto the ground. It was almost amusing to them. The heads looked from one rider to the other, growling softly. Ruffnut, her shirt now back on, reached out and snatched up Tuffnut's garment, grimacing.

"Ugh, this is disgusting! How can you be sweaty in this weather?" She growled.

"'Cause I'm a guy! Duh! Guys are supposed to sweat!" As if to illustrate this, he lifted his arms up above his head and examined his bare chest. "Hey, look, I think I'm growing chest hair."

Ruffnut blanched. "Ugh, put your shirt on, Tuff, that's gross!"

"What do you mean? Girls love chest hair!"

"I'm talking about you with your shirt off! No-one wants to see that!"

Begrudgingly sliding his shirt back over his head, he scowled at her, displeased. "Well, that's a bit harsh..." He grumbled, buckling his belt.

"Yeah, well, it's true." Looking up from her sewing and seeing his upset look, she sighed, "You're 15, you can't do that yet. Wait 'til you're older."

He sat down beside her, stroking Belch's head as it snaked its way onto his lap and closed its eyes, purring slightly. He watched her sewing intently, her hands flying over the seams she was making with practised ease and careful consideration.

"Did mum teach you that?" He asked, overly cautious. Recoiling as she pricked her finger, she looked over at him, unimpressed.

"Yeah. So?" Already, she was beginning on the second shirt.

"Nothing, just wondering." He leant back on his hands, staring through the trees into the sky, so very far above. "Be careful with that shirt, it's my favourite..."

Hanging above, the white rider was very impressed by the twin's efforts. They certainly hadn't seen anything like that coming, especially not from the twins. Her Nadder twitched underneath her. Looking up, the rider spied dark clouds on the horizon.

"_Better hurry, a storm is coming..."_

_A storm is coming! What will that mean for the twin's bonfire? Hopefully, they'll get it done in time before the rain starts and puts it out!_


	4. Timberjack

_More Alone! What dangers will the twins face in the forest as they collect pine needles? Who is this mysterious white rider? One of these, you will find out in this chapter!_

_Gave up on the French version after two lines. Heh. _

_I'm not going to reply to all of your reviews; sorry, I just don't have the time (and there's so many of them to reply too!). All I'm going to say is this: It's not a god, sorcerer or magician, just a normal person, but if I tell you any more, I'm going to give it away! As well as this, thank you for all of your kind reviews, I have read them all and they're very nice and encouraging. I will try to write a good storm for you all. _

Tuffnut casually stooped down and began to gather up the top, dried layer of pine needles and slip them carefully into his bag. The cloth shirt was working surprisingly well as a bag for the fire material. However, the needles were deceptively sharp, and more than once he had pricked his fingers scooping them in handfuls. Around him, the forest had thinned slightly, letting more of the soft, dappled light through that illuminated shifting patches on the forest floor.

He stopped for a moment to look around himself. There were more bushes here than where they had started, and these were lush and greener, with little cotton soft flowers peppering them. Around, the smell of damp earth lingered, refreshing and cool. Tuffnut stooped by a bush to smell the little buds. He could almost taste their rich, sweet scent.

Near him lay a long, smooth tree trunk, lying on its side among the other plants. Thinking he could just sit down for a while, he approached and lowered himself none too softly onto the surprisingly comfortable seat. He was about to inspect the contents of his almost-full bag when a deathly shudder ran up the log he was sitting on. He frowned, uncomprehending, until he heard a soft growl humming through the still air.

Ruffnut smiled, straightening up, her own bag full to the brim with jagged, brown needles. She sighed and wiped her brow softly, casting a glance over her shoulder to the dragon lazing in a patch of shifting sunlight nearby. One head chirruped and moved slightly, but did not venture to open its weary eyes.

All of a sudden, she heard pounding footsteps close by. Someone was running towards her, and fast. Barf and Belch's heads jerked up in surprise, looking this way and that, trying to locate the source. All of a sudden, Tuffnut burst from the shadows with a cry of fear, stumbling and flying, uncoordinated into his sister. The twins fell in a heap before their dragon's feet, limbs flailing as they tried to untangle themselves. Their dragon whined, shrinking away from sounds only they could hear.

"What are you doing? Get off me!" Ruffnut snarled, shoving her brother roughly aside. He tried to give a stammering reply, fear plain in his wide eyes. She frowned. "What?"

"T-T-T-Timberjack!" He wailed, scrambling to his feet, full of horror. There was an ear-splitting roar from the depths of the forest and the rush of leathery wings. The light above the trees was suddenly and inexplicably blocked out. Dimly, they could see a creature of wooden-brown colour hanging in the sky above them. Its long, fanged snout peered at them through the trees, head lowering to see them better.

Its eyes were piercing yellow, pupils thin slits as it observed the teens frozen below. The horns that curled up from the back of it's skull were like tree branches, twisting and deadly. The Timberjack had no legs; instead, it hung in the air, beating its enormous wings only slightly to stay aloft. They had read about those wings, so sharp they could slice through fully grown trees as though they were nothing more than a block of yak butter. It gave them the chills.

Slowly, its grand maw opened and released a yowling roar that brought them back to their senses. They could see straight down the dragon's throat and were intent on not seeing it at any closer distance. Ruffnut grabbed her brother's wrist and tugged.

"Run!" She cried. The creature gave another roar as the twins dashed out of sight through the trees, their dragon following on behind. _Running again, _Ruffnut thought grudgingly, _I thought we'd done this already?_ Her heart was hammering in her chest, her breath coming in short gasps. Her brother looked at her, exchanging a look of fear.

"The up side is, I'm going to lose a lot of weight from this!" She joked between gasps. Tuffnut chuckled. All of a sudden, the shape was above them again. Around them began to fall the tops of the trees that became the Timberjack's victims. One landed between Barf and Belch's heads, another threatened to crush Tuffnut, its branches giving him a hearty smack as they came.

Another piercing roar brought then stumbling to a halt. They were stuck on a ledge, the bottom disappearing into the depths of the forest far below. The lower levels of this hill were stepped as well, it seemed, but they were hidden in the thick forest. However, this step was like two combined; far too steep and long to jump off. The twins were trapped against it.

The Timberjack half-crawled, half-slithered towards them, its long, scythe-like claws gripping the tops of the pines. It was using them to hold it above the level of the forest so that it could better concentrate on its prey. Its long, serpentine body weaved in an out of the branches as it came ever closer, its deadly jaws snapping.

Barf and Belch gave a warning growl, trying to dissuade the enormous creature, but it suddenly shot into the air, its tail lashing out and knocking them back. Ruffnut glanced at her brother, seeing no way out. Her twin shared her same look of terror, pale and shaking. The jaws snapped closer. Tuffnut threw himself aside as the tail swiped for him. Ruffnut inched back, but suddenly, her foot disappeared into a void of open space. She screamed as she fell against the cliff-face, just managing to grab onto the edge with the fingers of one hand, the other grasping her bag in a white-knuckled grip.

A wing came slicing through the air towards him, and Tuffnut barely managed to avoid it as it scored a nasty wound across his bare arm. Blood instantly began to boil up from within it. He slapped a hand over the cut to try to stop the bleeding. Screeching, the creature came shooting across the edge, narrowly missing the top of the brother's helmet and shooting straight across the sister. It turned and hung in mid-air, observing its prey, considering its strike.

"Come on! We have to get out of here while we have a chance!" Tuffnut cried, searching for his sister. "Sis?"

"Tuffnut! Help me!" Came her scream. His eyes found her fingers clasping the rocky edge. "Tuffnut!" She called again, feeling her fingers slipping away. She tried to reach up with the other hand, but only succeeded in making it worse. Her muscles burned, fingers shook.

In a second, Tuffnut had thrown himself to the ground and grabbed her arm, trying to haul her up. However, the Timberjack wasn't going to wait for them to be safe. It gathered itself, ready to strike...

There was a loud explosion, rippling through the air, and a blanket of thick, smothering smoke wrapped around them, shielding them from view. They could hear the Timberjack yowling in anger, unable to find its target. Barf and Belch's heads came snaking through the smoke, just like when they first saw the Zippleback, and their teeth closed around the scruffs of their necks, hauling them to safety and then tossing them up onto their necks.

As they galloped for the safety of the forest, Belch gathered up Tuffnut's needle bag, knowing that the twins would soon need it, and, with their attacker left confused on the step-edge, they made well and true their escape.

_Whew! All these deadlines are really hard to keep up with! Do forgive me for not focusing on this story, I have my last deadline tomorrow (Tuesday) and after that, tons of exams. With any luck, I might get a few chances during study leave to relax and write, but do be patient with me, I can't go faster than my work will allow. Thank you all!_


	5. Red Berries

_Okay, here we go again! Thank you for the kind messages, I can never thank you all enough._

"Whoa! That was too close!" Tuffnut cried, once they were a safe distance from the Timberjack and sure that it had not followed. He turned to his sister. "You okay, sis?"

"Yeah, fine," She muttered, massaging her aching hand slightly. "Are you?"

"Uh, in what sense? Like, if I'm physically hurt, or mentally, or...?"

"Are you cut, you idiot!" Ruffnut snarled, glaring at him.

"No!" He replied, a little too quickly. "Well, maybe... okay, yes, I'm hurt." At her beckoning, he turned enough to show her the gash in his upper arm. She examined it with light fingers, then took a strip of cloth from a saddle-bag and bound it tightly. "Any better?"

"Yeah, thanks." He looked around. "So, which way do we go now?"

"Easy. We need to get to the top, so we just need to keep going up." She absent-mindedly stroked Barf's neck, looking through the trees curiously, then sliding off the saddle. "If we're going to build a fire, we need something to burn. Let's collect some wood and put it on Barf and Belch's back. They can help carry it for us."

"Oh, great, good idea" Tuffnut hopped down onto the ground, appearing by her side moments later.

The rest of the steep climb was taken up searching for the biggest, driest and lightest pieces of wood they could find. The ones that were rotting would burn the best, as they had found out on multiple occasions trying to set the village alight. The twins were experts on all things flammable, having experimented with many different things in their shared 17 years of life. Normally, it was less than amiable, but on this occasion, it gave them a great head-start. The bundle on the dragon's back steadily grew.

"Ooh! Ruff, check out these berries!" Tuffnut suddenly called out; he was peering down a a little cluster of bright-red orbs clinging to the branch of a small bush, glittering innocently. Ruffnut eyed them sceptically.

"Don't eat them, Tuff. You have no idea what they are. Come on, we've got wood to collect..." Paying him no heed, she turned and gathered a bundle of sticks from under a tall pine. The next second, she heard an almighty retch, followed by the sound of her brother spitting into the grass. He blanched in disgust. Slowly, a look of fury gathering on her face like a storm, Ruffnut turned to face him. "Did you just eat those berries?" She spat, sharp features glaring daggers at him.

"Uh, no..." He muttered, trying to look innocent, though his fingers were stained red, as were his lips. "Okay, it was just one-"

"That could be poisonous!" She exploded, throwing her arms above her head. "Do you have _any idea_ what that could do to you?"

"I spat it out! It's fine!" He countered, backing up.

"I really hope you did, Tuff. I seriously hope you did." The sister fumed. She clenched her fists, but with a certain control, she turned back and gathered the sticks, carrying them resolutely back to where the Zippleback was patiently waiting. Her brother followed her, still spitting out the remains of the sickly, foul-tasting berry.

It was hard to see through the trees, but the masked rider saw well enough that the boy had just eaten something, and she could hear the loud shouting just as well as the sister chided her brother. _"what on earth did he just eat? Oh, this might just spoil everything..."_

Ruffnut quietly tossed the sticks atop the already quite significant pile amassed on her dragon's back. Her brother was behind her, stroking his throat and coughing slightly. Abruptly, his eyes widened with shock, and he gave a strangled noise, as though choking. His sister whirled around to look at him.

"Tuffnut!" She yelped as he fell to the floor, limbs writhing as he tried to draw oxygen. His legs kicked out towards her as she dashed over and fell to her knees beside him. The dragon, too, was watching worriedly from behind them. "Tuffnut! I told you not to eat that berry! Oh, you _idiot_!" It was no use; his violent spasms were slowing, and his coughing ceased with them. "No!" His sister howled as his head lolled to the side, eyes closed.

Tears were threatening to spill down her cheeks as she stared down helplessly at the boy beneath her. Her brother, her twin, snatched away in a second, in such a cruel and tyrannical way. Her voice was strangely choked as she whispered. "Tuff?" Shaking his shoulders like a child, she called out his name again, but there was no response. Nothing.

He was gone.

"No..." She sat back, her heart tearing itself in two. The half that held her brother was dying painfully in her chest. Then he twitched. She stared. It was less of a twitch, more of a shaking of his shoulders, as though he was... laughing.

"Haha, that'll never get old..." He murmured, sitting up and grinning like an idiot. The perfect target. His twin's fist found its mark even through the haze of tears.

"You _LIED TO ME!_" She screamed, leaping to her feet, brushing the tears away roughly and endeavouring to force her foot as far into his ribs as possible, earning a satisfying yell of pain from him. "How _DARE YOU? HOW COULD YOU?_" Another kick sent him scurrying for cover behind a tree, peeking out from behind it to regard his sister tugging her braids. Her face was screwed up in anger and resentment.

"Uh, I'm sorry?" He ventured tentatively, taking a step forward. Her eyes clapped on to him, fury burning deep within.

"If you _ever_ do something like that to me again, I will make sure that you're _actually _dead. Understand?" With a final snort of annoyance, she turned to go, the dragon behind her following on. Tuffnut suppressed a giggle. He couldn't believe she'd actually fallen for it. However, some small part of him was actually surprised that she'd had such a reaction; almost flattered that she cared so much. He jogged to catch up with her, his ribs aching almost to the point of making him feel ill.

As he was running, he caught sight of a small cluster of tiny, white flowers, and stooped to grab them roughly in one hand. Once behind her, he began to tuck them into the braid that ran down her back.

"What are you doing?" She snarled, still fuming.

"They're flowers. Girls like flowers." He gave her a lopsided grin as she turned back to look at him, displaying his rows of wonky teeth.

"You're such an idiot..." She snorted, turning back, though her anger was slowly melting away. The trees around them were thinning out. They were reaching the top of the hill, finally, their goal coming closer with each step.

"_There they are..."_ They had finally spotted the twins, and pointed them out to their dragon, who dipped in the sky to fly slightly closer. The white Nadder cawed quietly, and her rider hushed her gently, but they need not have feared; the white clouds were quite effectively shielding them from sight. In fact, neither twin looked up as they reached their destination.

"_Soon, my darling, very soon..."_

_I know that at least one person has guessed right about the white rider, but who? Curious... Anyway, thanks for sticking with me!_


	6. Lullaby

_So, did eating those berries affect Tuffnut? And who is this masked rider? All will be revealed very soon..._

He was putting the first log down in their fire pit when he first felt it; a sort of fatigue, numbing but faint. They had dug a deep trench right at the very peak of the hill and were preparing to set a great beacon inside, hoping at least the smoke column would be visible from Berk. However, as he moved more and more logs, Tuffnut began to feel more and more weak. His arms began to shake, as did his legs, and his skin took on a deathly white pallor.

"Come on, Tuff, you're not even trying!" His sister called over as he dropped the log he was struggling to carry. Simply grunting, he bent over to catch his wavering breath. _Perhaps she was right, _he thought suddenly, _perhaps it was poisonous. I could die. I could be dying right now! _The thought brought on a wave of dizziness that made him stumble forward.

"Oh, don't be stupid!" His sister scoffed, lugging a large branch over her shoulder. "If you think I'm gonna fall for that again, you've got another thing coming!"

Tuffnut faltered, then gave a sharp, unnatural laugh. "Yeah, no fooling you, sis!" He stood up straight once again and lifted the log, lurching sideways as he did so, but he was determined to cover up his weakness. He was determined not to be sick.

However, no amount of resolve could stop the poison that was slowly spreading through his veins. The pain began deep in his stomach, spreading slowly out through all of his limbs, numbing him. Finally, he could struggle no more, tripping over his own feet and finding that, once on the ground, he could not get up again.

His sister glanced over sceptically, raising an eyebrow in irritation. "Look, I'm not doing all the work, okay? Get up and do something!"

"Sis..." He croaked, the world dipping and spinning, twisting and writhing around him, totally out of focus one second, then clearer than ever the next. The dull aching creeping through every limb was enough to make him cry out in pain, if only he could find his tongue. An abrupt wave of nausea swept over him, and he managed, somehow, to roll over before he managed to vomit all over himself.

When the sickness started, Ruffnut realised that he wasn't faking it to annoy her. He really was sick. She yelled out his name, dropping her bundle of wood and rushing over to kneel by his side. The sister placed a hand on his forehead, then pulled back with a hiss. His brow was scorching, almost too hot to touch, but his skin was pale and sickly, covered in a thin layer of sweat. She took his hand gently.

"It's gonna be okay, Tuff. Just relax, you'll be fine..." There was no weight to her words. Even she didn't believe them. Turning, she clapped eyes onto Barf and Belch, hanging around nervously near the fire-pit. "Barf! Belch! Light that fire!" She called. Instantaneously, they whipped around, Barf spraying noxious, green gas into the wood, and Belch sparked it with practised precision. The fire leapt into life with a loud _bang_.

Above them, the clouds had gone from powder-white to steel-grey. The storm was upon them, and Ruffnut had no time to get her brother out of the way. She was afraid to move him, in case it made him worse. His almost inaudible moans were rattling her right down to the core. The rain began to fall in hissing sweeps, spattering them with cold, hard droplets that clung to the end of Ruffnut's nose as she peered down for any sign of improvement. A clap of thunder echoed across the island, and the Zippleback retreated into the forest, as though it would afford them some protection from the lightning strikes.

Ruffnut's hand travelled the length of Tuffnut's burning, rain-soaked face, and she uttered a soft noise of dis-belief. She had never seen her brother so sick, not once. A cold or Eel Pox was nothing compared to this. Though his eyes were wide open, staring, unblinking, he saw nothing of the world around him. His breath came in short, sharp gasps, his limbs trembling against his sister's knees. She slumped to the side, unable to look a moment longer, closed her eyes and tried to pretend it wasn't happening, but his tiny, painful moans kept snapping her back to the nauseating reality.

"Stop it... stop making those noises..." She begged, frowning in frustration, but he didn't seem to hear. The only reply was another short gasp. Agonised, she turned back and groaned. There was nothing else she could do. The fire raged behind her, bright and untameable, casting dark shadows against her brother's pale face. She lent down and touched his cheek, brushing some of his unruly hair back out of his eyes.

"Oh, Tuffnut... you're so stupid. I really, really hate you right now." Even as she said the words, she knew she didn't mean them. His eyes slowly closed as he slowly, finally lost consciousness. His head slouched sideways, turning towards her, almost as though he was begging to be comforted. She responded dutifully, dredging up he mother's song from the depths of her muddled memory.

"_Hush, little Viking, don't you cry,_

_Or the Berserker will stab you in the eye,_

_Don't let the enemy see you afraid, _

_Or they're gonna gut you with a rusty blade..."_

She coughed to clear her throat, her eyes closed, taking a deep, calming breath so as not to choke up as she tried to sing the final verse.

"_If that dragon hears your moans,_

_he's gonna mash up all your bones..._

_Brother, promise you won't die on me,_

_I'll get us back, just wait and see..."_

It was possible she would have broken down then and there, if her attention hadn't suddenly been caught by a low-flying dragon whooshing straight over her head. She was on her feet in a second, whirling around to face the danger. A Nadder stood behind her, like no dragon she had ever seen. It was completely white, white piercing yellow eyes that glared at her as her rider slid down off her back.

The rider was dressed in pale riding gear, bleached to shield them against the clouds, with a strange mask covering their face. It was strange, made of leather with a face painted on, a hideous, grinning face, baring its teeth in a primeval snarl. As the rider approached, Ruffnut stumbled forward a few steps, pulling herself up to her full height, more than ready to fight with her hands balled into fists.

"Who are you? Don't come any closer!" She yelled. The rider, however, did not stop. More forcefully, she snarled, "You're not touching him, or me. I won't let you!"

"Move aside." The voice was strangely familiar, but Ruffnut forced herself not to be fooled. It could be a trap. She took a deep breath, chest swelling.

"Over my dead body!" She declared bravely, baring her teeth.

"That can be arranged..." The rider's hand flicked up, grasping the edge of their mask. It came flying off onto the ground beside them. Ruffnut's jaw dropped.

It was Astrid.

_Congrats to those who guessed right! It was Astrid all along! What will she have to say about the twins predicament? And don't you just love a good bit of twin fluff? I think they're really cute sometimes, and I love it. _


	7. Back to Berk

_I'm trying to write as much as I can, but man, I just found this thing, School of Dragons, and I'm sad enough to have made myself an account. Stupid me. Hopefully, after the exams are over, I will be able to go on it and also write more. Hopefully. I just came up with a good idea which includes Snotlout as a main character, which is cool, because I feel like I write too much about the twins. Hehehe. _

_Thank you for all the PM's I'm getting, I do get them when you post them by email but they don't always appear in the reviews page, so don't be afraid, I have seen and read your lovely reviews. Thank you!_

Ruffnut stood, completely in awe. How long had Astrid been there? Since the beginning? Why hadn't she helped them? Why hadn't she stopped Tuffnut from eating those berries? So many questions buzzed around her head that all the came out of her mouth was a jumble of sounds spilling over each other in their race to be heard.

"Out of the way!" Astrid scowled, pushing her aside as she continued to gawk like an idiot. The athletic blonde made her way over and knelt by Tuffnut's side, an eyebrow raised, checking him over. She brushed her long braid over her shoulder. "What colour were the berries?" She asked curtly.

"Red." Ruffnut replied almost immediately.

"Did you eat any?"

"What? No, I'm not stupid."

"That's debatable." Astrid tested Tuffnut's pulse, checked his breathing with the back of her hand, and then jumped back onto her feet. Ruffnut was at her shoulder in a second.

"Will he be okay?" She asked waveringly.

"I'm not going to lie to you, Ruffnut, he's probably not going to make it. But that doesn't mean we can't do everything to save him." She turned her unsmiling eyes to the girl beside her, pity plain on her face. Although Ruffnut was in quite a state on the inside, she was blocking her feelings on the outside and didn't return the gaze, looking only at her brother. "I'm going back with Stormfly. You need to stay here while I get Hiccup."

"Wait, Stormfly? Where's she?" Ruffnut was very confused. She looked around, just to confirm that the only Nadder in the clearing was indeed the white one. However, as she stared closer at I, she realised that the whiteness on it's back was thinning out where the rain was beating down on it.

"We covered Stormfly in chalk dust and clay to camouflage her against the clouds." Astrid shot breezily over her shoulder as she jogged over to the dragon, hopping up into her saddle. "Remember, keep him alive! If he's sick again, roll him over!" She called, and then Stormfly spread her wings and was away.

Ruffnut watched her until she grew to be a speck in the sky, then turned back to her ailing brother, kneeling by his head and stroking his hair. She lifted off his helmet, placing it in the grass nearby, and slid his jacket off to keep him cool. He looked so frail, she was almost afraid that he might break in two. Sighing, she stared wistfully after Astrid and Stormfly, willing them onwards.

"Come on, girl, time to live up to your name!" Astrid shouted encouragement to her dragon as they sped across the sky. The rain lashed down into their faces and scored marks on Astrid's arms as she crouched low in the saddle. Stormfly chirruped, fluttering into the gusting winds, flailing uselessly to try to stay level. Astrid clung on; it was all she could do.

"Come on, Stormfly... hurry..."

Barf and Belch curled around their riders, using their body to try to shield them from the worst of the deluge. Their heads snaked in too as Ruffnut propped herself up against the soft rise and fall of their ribcage, pulling her brother closer and resting his head on her lap, like a pillow. She found comfort in winding her fingers through the knots of his platinum blonde hair, feeling the grease and rain coating her fingers. Closing her eyes for a second, she then looked away, out into the black sky, looking out for any sign of the other rider. Finding nothing, she turned and let her foggy head fall back against the dragon's flank.

Stormfly looked exhausted, fighting the gusting wind and driving rain. It was quite possibly the worst ride Astrid had ever had the misfortune to experience. With every flutter and gust, her stomach flipped and pressed into her throat. Air-sickness was definitely the last thing she wanted right now, though her body was convinced otherwise. To try to take her mind off it, She turned her thoughts to Hiccup and to Berk, her destination, and willed away the miles as they flew through the heart of the maelstrom.

A loud crash of thunder woke Ruffnut with a start, and she shook her head, embarrassingly aware that she had fallen asleep on the job. Barf stared at her, nudging her hip with his nose, Belch fast asleep beside him. She stared curiously.

"Wait, you guys are taking turns? You can actually do that?"

As if to answer her question, Barf nudged Belch awake and laid his own head down beside Ruffnut, close enough that she could reach out and stroke his nose. The other head was checking his rider, sniffing around him and touching his fingers gently with his snout, but to no avail. Tuffnut was getting no better. His sister closed her eyes, praying for Astrid's swift return.

Finally, Stormfly dropped down out of the clouds. Berk was below them, at last, and Astrid shouted words of encouragement as the Nadder dropped lower and lower, swooping over the houses, heading straight for the main square. Astrid was off her back and running for the chief's house even before her dragon landed, in a fearful frenzy. _It won't be too late. It won't. _She told herself, taking the steps up to the wooden hut two at a time and pounding up the steep path to the carved, wooden door. Three time, she slammed her fist against the door, screaming for Hiccup, looking up as she did so at the enormous carved head of a Monstrous Nightmare that glared down from above her.

The door flew open. "Astrid!" Hiccup's voice came from the darkness inside, and she was pulled into the shelter, out of the rain. There he stood, the chief's son, getting taller and, if possible, even more skinny. His mop of red-brown hair fell lazily over his emerald eyes and down the back of his neck. Already, he was a head taller than the girl who stood before him.

"What's going on? Astrid, what's wrong?" He held her shoulders in a firm yet comforting grip, his face a picture of worry. She gulped, taking a breath to steady herself.

"Tuffnut ate a poisonous berry. He's collapsed and.. well, I don't know what to do!" She explained hurriedly. Toothless, Hiccup's dragon, who had been lurking in the shadows before now, slowly sneaked out and placed his nose in her palm to relax her. Hiccup gave her a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry. We'll go and get Gothi, you bring him in here-"

"No, Hiccup, you don't understand. He's still out there, still on the island. Barf and Belch can't fly; you bound their wings, remember?"

"Oh, well that was a stupid idea!" Hiccup groaned. "Well, we're going back for him, then. I'll get my dad to get Gothi ready for when we get back." Toothless hummed uneasily, gazing out into the storm. "I know, bud, I'm sorry, but if we don't do this, Tuffnut will die. I can't lose a dragon rider, you know that!"

Consenting, the dragon allowed Astrid to pull his harness on and buckle it hurriedly while Hiccup disappeared further into his dark house to find his father.

_Is Tuffnut saved? Well, I know, but you don't! Wait and see, for soon you will! I'm now on study leave, but I have to focus on my studies until my exams are over. I can't neglect them, I certainly don't want to fail, so bear with me! I hope this is as enjoyable to read as it is to write!_


	8. Through the Storm

_SO, next chapter! Will Hiccup and Astrid get back in time to save Tuffnut? Find out here!_

_Thank you for all of your lovely reviews, they make me happy!_

Ruffnut was woken a second time by a horrible noise coming from her lap. She came to her senses just in time to push her brother away before he vomited over the both of them. Instead, the mixture of bile and blood leaked out across the floor and snaked its way through the thin grass before soaking away with the rain. The sister leapt to her feet and made sure Tuffnut was lying comfortably on his side. With a jolt, she realised his eyes were open. He was awake.

His body convulsed as he coughed his throat clear weakly, beginning to shiver with cold, though his skin was still red-hot. Ruffnut tried to lay his jacket back over him, but it was sodden and cold, just like everything else, and didn't seem to help at all. Tuffnut blinked slowly, letting out a long, pained moan.

"Shh, it's okay..." His sister soothed as best she could, placing a hand on his burning brow. He looked up at her weakly, his eyes dull and lifeless, a film of blood coating his lips. He scowled as he caught sight of his sister's worried look.

"Ruff..." He croaked, trying to lift his hand. She placed her own over it, holding him still. "What's... what's happening...?"

Ruffnut gulped, looking away for a second to contemplate her answer. "Hiccup and Astrid are coming, Tuff. They're coming back for us. Just hang on..."

Hiccup came rushing out of his house, stumbling down the steps and splashing through the mud, his Night Fury at his heels. In the square, Astrid was knelt by Stormfly's head, stroking her softly and whispering quiet words as the Nadder lay on her side. She was exhausted. Hiccup frowned. Obviously, yet anther part of his plan had gone wrong.

"Hiccup, Stormfly can't fly any more..." Astrid whined, looking up at him with worried eyes, as though she thought that this might ruin everything.

"Leave her here. Toothless can carry us both."

"But Hiccup... won't he be as tired as she is when we get there?"

"No, Stormfly was flying straight into the wind the whole time. It's no wonder she's tired; it's not easy. No, Flying with the wind will use a lot less energy." Hiccup reached out, the Night Fury placing his nose in his rider's palm.

"Then what?" Hiccup didn't have a chance to answer as a figure came rushing across the square towards them. Snotlout had heard the disturbance and had come out to see what was going on. Internally, the Chief's son was grinning. Having an extra person on hand to help was just what he needed.

"Guys! What are you doing out here?" He cried out. Hookfang came scurrying behind him, nudging Stormfly in greeting as he came.

"Snotlout, I need you to go and get Gothi for me."

"Why? What's wrong? Is Stormfly sick?" He asked hurriedly. Hiccup glanced over at the dozing Nadder.

"No, but if you could put her to bed too, that would be really helpful." Taking Astrid's hand, he mounted Toothless and pulled her up behind him. The Night Fury spread his wings, ready to take off.

"Wait! Hiccup, what's going on?" Snotlout was considering all possible possibilities, but he couldn't find anything that would require this magnitude of hurrying and worry.

Hiccup knew that the more Gothi knew, the better. He locked eyes with Snotlout. "Tuffnut has eaten a poisonous berry. Gothi will have the cure, I'm sure. Tell her to bring every antidote she has. We're going to need everything we can get if we're going to stand a chance of saving him."

The horror on Snotlout's face was plain as Toothless shot into the air. However, he pushed it away again and took one of Stormfly's rain-soaked horns in his hand, giving it a dutiful tug and leading the Nadder back to her shelter, leaning beside her rider's house.

Out into the storm, they flew, Toothless catching and riding the strong gusts pushing them from behind like a ship riding waves. Hiccup looked out across the vast expanse of grey cloud and black ocean, his eyes as cold as the chilling wind. A mixture of emotions swirled around inside him. Worry, mostly for Tuffnut, but also for his sister, who wasn't known for coping well in anxious situations. In fact, he'd never seen her at all before in a situation like this.

He also felt the stressed anxiety that they were about to lose a valuable dragon rider and a friend. Without Tuffnut, Barf and Belch couldn't fly. That would leave Ruffnut also grounded, unless they could find some way of flying the Zippleback without two riders. Hiccup bit his lip thoughtfully, wanting not to have to think about it, but knowing he should, for the sake of everyone.

A gust caught Toothless off-guard and tossed him roughly forwards, jolting both riders back to their senses. The boy clung to his dragon's neck strap, Astrid holding on around his waist. He could feel her shivering against him, and realised that now, she'd been out in the storm for a good half an hour, twice as long as he had. That meant the twins, also, would be soaked through and freezing to death.

"How far away is this island now?" He asked, turning his head to talk to her.

"I don't know!" Her teeth were chattering quietly.

"Toothless! Take us below the clouds! We could have been blown off-course..."

As they dipped through the sky, Toothless gave a deep, thrumming roar, his ears standing up on end.

Barf and Belch's heads shot suddenly into the air, making Ruffnut jump. She looked at them in annoyance, but then followed their gaze, realising they had caught sight of something, Then, she heard it. A deep thrum, like a dragons roar. Barf and Belch replied almost immediately, standing up and lashing their long tails in excitement.

"What is it? Barf? Belch? Who is it?" Her heart was soaring. She jumped to her feet and strained her eyes as much as she dared against the cloud bank, picking out a tiny figure soaring towards her. Lifting her arms above her head, she waved, jumping up and screaming;

"Help! Help! Over here!"

Toothless came whizzing over her head a moment later, tuning into the rushing wind to land. Astrid was off his back in a second, Hiccup following a moment later, rushing over to her. The blonde went straight for Tuffnut, kneeling beside him and checking his pulse, while Hiccup jogged over and grabbed Ruffnut's freezing arms.

"Are you guys alright?" He asked hurriedly, gazing into her eyes. She smiled, so genuinely that it lit up her whole face, her body seeming to radiate with warmth, but it was quelled cruelly a moment later when Astrid grabbing Hiccup's arm and tugged.

"You've got to take Tuffnut back, right now. I don't think he's gonna make it..."

_Dun dun dun! I hope you guys don't mind waiting for these chapters like this. I'm sorry for the long waits! In other news, I have a new story coming up called The Runaway which is quite exciting, but be warned, it will have much darker tones than this one, with much more injury. _


	9. The Storm Lifts

_Okay, time for the next chapter. Will Tuffnut make it back to Berk in time? Do I always have to start with rhetorical questions? The wonderful thing about these is that I don't actually have to answer._

Ruffnut stood, watching Toothless grow to be a tiny speck against the clouds, and then disappear totally, taking with him his rider and her ailing brother. It almost felt as though she should wave them off as they soared away through the air, but she couldn't bring herself to give such a gesture. If anything, she felt drained, staring into the sky with dull eyes, until a hand on her shoulder brought her back to her senses.

"Come on, Ruffnut. We can't stay here all day. We have to get going." Astrid reasoned, an encouraging smile locked on her lips. The twin returned it, though not at all convincingly, and nodded, moving slowly to her dragon's side and lifting her hands to them. Barf's head snaking down, placing their muzzle in her palms, and then sinking low enough for her to swing herself into the saddle. Astrid did the same, though she couldn't say that she felt at all safe balanced precariously in the Zippleback's thin neck._ Give me the broad shoulders of a Nadder any day, _She thought to herself.

Barf and Belch was already fairly sweaty from their celebratory flight. When Hiccup had released the metal strip, they had instantly leapt aloft and taken to the air with much vigour. Obviously, they wouldn't be flying back into the wind with any great speed. They gave their crackling growl, ready to make the leap into the air again. Ruffnut and Astrid nodded to one another and gave both necks a gentle squeeze with their heels.

The flight was not comfortable at all. Astrid spent most of it clinging to the dragon's horns for her life. The gusting of the stormy air coupled with the motion of the dragon bobbing it's head as it flew and the narrowness of the neck came together to create the most uncomfortable and downright terrifying rides of her life. The blonde could see why the twins enjoyed riding their dragon so much. They always had a certain affinity for danger.

The sister turned to her, looking her over, before trying to speak.

"Astrid... what's going to happen to Tuffnut?"

"How should I know?" She retorted, readjusting her seat for the sixth time. "It's all up to him now. If he wants to live, he'll live, and if he can't hold on... well, you know the rest."

"But... what happens to us, then? If he dies, what happens to Barf and Belch? And to me?"

"That's for Hiccup to decide, not me,"

Ruffnut thought for a second before asking another infuriating question. "Are you scared?"

"Of this dragon? A little!" Astrid snarled, glaring at the sister, who seemed completely oblivious. She simply looked away again.

The storm clouds were thinning around them, tendrils and wisps of white among the grey. The winds were dying down, the rain had stopped, and finally, Astrid was getting an appreciation for the power of storms, the swirling winds whipping the colour into her cheeks and chilling her sodden clothes so that she could barely feel her feet or hands. At a glance, it was obvious that Ruffnut was in exactly the same position.

"Let's just hope we get back to Berk soon..."

Hiccup had demanded the girls change and bathe before they came to see Tuffnut, assuring them that he was fine for the moment. He knew that they needed to get the warmth back into their bodies before they could be expected to function at all normally. He stood in the doorway of the dark hut, staring out into the brightening sky, his arms crossed. Above him, the Monstrous Nightmare carving watched over the village as it slowly came back to life. People began to shuffle to and fro, carrying this, delivering that, buying things from the stall that were just beginning to reopen. Some even went to check on elderly relatives.

He lent against the door frame, breathing a deep sigh, trying to keep the slight smirk from sliding off his face. Behind him, he knew Gothi was at work, trying what she could to soothe the twin and ease his recovery. However, if the need arose, she would also be there to ease his passage. Hiccup gulped. He refused to think about it.

All of a sudden, from across the square came a shout, followed by a great cacophony of noise as a Zippleback charged through the scattering of people. Not just any Zippleback, Hiccup noticed, but a certain grass-green and red one. Barf and Belch flailed wildly around the square, pulling themselves off balance by trying to search with both heads at once. Behind them, their rider was chasing them to try to get them under control. She grabbed Barf's head, only to be tossed away and crash into a pile of baskets. Hiccup was about to help her, but found that, before he could even stand up straight, she had risen and was dusting herself off. Evidently, she had had worse falls.

Her eyes caught his, and in a second, the dragon didn't even matter any more. She began to make her way towards him, first trying to walk nonchalantly, as if nothing was wrong, but her speed quickly increased as she found no-one paying her any heed, accelerating to a run as she reached the steps and leapt up them rapidly.

She reached the door just as Hiccup's hand shot out and grabbed her arm.

"You can't go in, Ruffnut. Not yet." He tried to sound as calm as possible, locking her with a steady gaze. She returned it and stepped back, scowling.

"Why not? Is he...?"

"No, no," Hiccup answered quickly. "No, he's okay, but Gothi needs to work on him alone. You know how it is..."

"Yeah..." Ruffnut looked away, shoulders slumping, and fell back against the side of the house, inconsolable. Before them, Barf and Belch were putting on quite a show, to the annoyance of the rest of the village, as their tails thrashed things out of people's hands and swept tables clear. They were searching for their fallen rider.

"Are you gonna...?" Hiccup gestured towards the out-of-control dragon.

"Nope." Came the short reply. Her hand came up to massage her temples, hiding her face from view.

"You okay?"

"Just a headache. All this noise, you know?" She looked over at him. "And the cold didn't help, either. When my ears get too cold, they give me a headache. No idea why."

"Well, that's strange." The boy snorted sarcastically. He looked at her meaningfully once again, and she sighed, muttering under her breath. Stepping forward, she took a deep breath and thrust her shoulders back, then uttered the single loudest shout Hiccup had ever heard from anyone who wasn't his father.

"Oi! _CUT IT OUT ALREADY!"_

Utterly startled, the dragon actually fell over before scrabbling into a submissive position, chattering unhappily, their tails between their legs. The anger melted almost immediately from Ruffnut's face. Seeing that they were forgiven, the Zippleback gave a quiet noise, looking out at her, wide-eyed. She reached out for her dragon. Their heads came to her palms as if practised at doing so, and she gave them both a gentle stroke, smiling.

"Whatever happens now, guys, we'll always have each other. We'll stick together. Deal?"

The looks in their eyes gave her just the answer she needed to see.

_Oooh, cuteness! Will Tuffnut be alright? Find out next chapter, which should hopefully be the last! Then I can bring you The Runaway, something I'm really looking forward to writing. _


	10. Awake

_You didn't really think I'd let Tuffnut die, did you? Oh no, he's gonna be back to his old self in no time! Don't forget to R+R, I love to hear from you guys :)_

He awoke through a cloud of fog, his nose stuffy and his head spinning slightly. There was a buzz in his ears, though this cleared slowly, along with everything else, to leave him in a bed. A strange bed. Tuffnut didn't really use beds, so being in one for once was strange. He looked around himself. The room was dark and musty, with a fire sat in the middle, keeping a stifling heat. There was a stove in the corner, a table a chairs nearby. He quickly realised that this was the chief's house.

The twin heard a sharp snort, sitting up to find his sister fast asleep at his side, her head resting on his chest. He looked at her for a second, slightly bemused, as if he couldn't quite work out where she'd come from, and then, with an overly loud shout of; "_Ugh! _Girl germs!" He gave her a rough shove that sent her sprawling to the ground, limbs flying in all directions. With a loud shout of indignation, she dusted herself off and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"Hey! What was that for?" She snarled, teeth bared. Her brother shot her a look.

"You're gross. Why'd you fall asleep on me like that?"

"Well, perhaps I've been sitting here, not sleeping for three days, waiting for you to wake up!" She stood up, in a huff, and headed for the door, glancing over her shoulder to add, "No, don't say anything. I know when I'm not wanted."

He barely had time to shout out to her before the door slammed behind her, and he was left with a feeling of regret and remorse writhing in his breast. Looking down, he barely noticed the figure pacing placidly down the stairs to see what the noise was all about. Hiccup walked calmly up to the bedside, startling Tuffnut slightly, though the twin tried his best to hide it. His calm gaze fell on the weakened boy.

"So... how do you feel?" Hiccup asked quietly.

"Better than before. A bit like I do after a bad landing," The brother mused. The chief's son regarded him with a certain amount of bemusement.

"And that little argument with your sister; what was that about?"

"Oh, I pushed her and she freaked out. I don't understand her sometimes."

Hiccup nodded, smiling slightly in understanding. "She's really tired, for a start, which always makes a person cranky. As well as that, she's been worried about you. Not like other people, not showing anything, but really worried on the inside." Tuffnut nodded soundlessly, his lips pursed. "You want me to go talk to her?"

He seemed to brighten at the idea. Sitting up, Tuffnut nodded eagerly, smiling slightly. "That would be awesome, thanks."

"Bear in mind, she might just want to go to bed..." Hiccup warned as he turned for the door. He heard the twin flop back down onto his bed as he closed it behind him.

The night air was cool, filled with the warm smell of burning torches, a rich, woody smell, and the salty tang of the sea that lapped at the cliffs on which the village was built. The houses, their roofs overgrown with mosses, stood out, warm and inviting in the firelight. He looked up to the star-filled sky and through the dark streets to a small, hunched figure, moving very slowly away, as though dragging themselves away from something very dear. He could hear her feet sliding along the dirt track. Launching himself forwards down the steps, he jogged to catch up with her, reaching forwards as he did so.

His hand met her shoulder. "Ruffnut! Where are you going?"

"Home! I'm done with this!" She shot back, grabbing his wrist and tossing it roughly away.

"Tuffnut needs you! I know he does! If you would only go back and-"

"No, Hiccup, can't you see? He doesn't even care!" She looked away, lips pursed in her signature scowl. "He's got you anyway."

"Come on, Ruff, just for a second. Just come back and tell him goodnight. Just to show you're not mad at him."

"But I am mad at him! He shoved me into a wall!"

"Yeah, but he doesn't need to know that..." Hiccup felt his argument losing more and more sense even as the words came out of his mouth. Instead, he just gave the sister a pleading look. Looking ready to smack him across the cheek, she hunched her shoulders, hostile. He stepped back out of range, just in case.

"Why should I be nice to him? He wasn't nice to me."

Suddenly, an idea bloomed in his head, and so, he shrugged, turning around. "Fine, I'll just tell him you're not coming. I'll tell him you went to bed without him. I'm sure he won't mind..."

He was suddenly shoved aside, the girl storming past him, back towards the house. "Words can't describe how much I hate both of you right now," She spat, stamping back up the steps, Hiccup grinning at her heels.

She barged through the door and folded her arms across her chest, glaring at her brother, who looked delighted, the light from the moon outside falling across his bed in a door-shaped shaft.

"Hiccup says you wanted me." She spat.

"Did he? Oh, I don't know where he got that idea from," The boy shrugged, wrinkling his nose.

"Fine, I'm going to bed then," She snorted, turning.

"No, Sis, wait a sec..." The girl couldn't resist the call, turning to look over her shoulder as her brother tried to pull the blankets off his bed and get out. Hiccup bit his lip. He wasn't sure whether the boy would yet be strong enough to stand. However, he needn't have worried, for the next moment, Ruffnut was there, roughly shoving her brother back into the bed, pulling the covers back up under his chin and forcing him down.

"Stay in bed, will you? You stupid idiot, you'll get yourself in an even worse way than you're in now!"

"Will not," He argued, but was silenced by his sister's glare as she perched on the end of his bed.

"Go to bed and rest. The longer you take to recover, the worse Barf and Belch will get and the longer it will be until we can blow things up again."

"Yeah, you're right," He breathed, smiling. For the first time in days, Both twins had a smirk on their faces. "I remember it, you know. I remember everything you said to me, when we were waiting for Astrid and Hiccup."

"You were unconscious!" The sister said scathingly.

"Was not. Not in my mind, anyway. My body just wasn't working."

"Oh, go to sleep!" She gave Tuffnut a slap across the forehead, and then stood as he rolled on to his side, closing his eyes obediently. Exchanging a glance with Hiccup, she left his side, staggering towards the door.

"You can stay here, you know. I've got a spare bed." Hiccup offered, but she waved away the suggestion with a sweep of her hand.

"I'm fine, Hiccup. Stop worrying!"

And with that, she left, disappearing into the night once again.

_Sorry for the extraordinary wait, I know how annoying it must be. My last exam is this Wednesday, and then hopefully I will find more time to write my next adventure, The Runaway. This one focuses on all of the characters at some point. I can't wait to start writing it, it's so full of action I'm not going to be able to stop. This one got a little boring at the end, if anyone happened to notice. Hehe. Never mind, until the next time,_

_Dissidia180_

_How to Train Your Dragon and all characters are copyright of Dreamworks Animation_

_All events and plot are copyright of Dissidia180 2014._


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